Nickel Creek, a trio from Southern California, is known for showing all that’s possible when a classically influenced bluegrass band really rocks out. With pop-folk lyrics performed by guitarist Sean Watkins, his violinist sister Sara and mandolinist Chis Thile, Nickel Creek’s sound is an eclectic combination of genres that includes classical, jazz, and rock—everything from Bela Bartok to Bela Fleck. The result is a vibrant reinvention of a classic form.

Nickel Creek has been on the road with Fiona Apple for their Farewell Tour, which hits Central Park’s Summerstage tonight. Chris, Sara and Sean began playing with Apple a few years ago at club Largo in Los Angeles, a club known for impressive lineups and unexpected appearances.

The August dates will showcase an expansion of collaborations developed at Largo. Material will come from Nickel Creek's and Fiona Apple's individual repertoires, but the audience can also expect to hear anything from pop to country to rock covers. Nickel Creek has been known to get particularly artistically edgy with renditions of songs like “Toxic” by Britney Spears, giving their shows a humorous touch (even more so when you see how many die-hard hippies actually know the words to that song).

Nickel Creek decided to take a break of indefinite length at the end of 2007. In an interview with Billboard magazine, all three members say they are ready to expand their musical horizons by “getting a life.”

“When you're on the road all the time and meet all these people who love your music, you can't always relate to them because stuff never happens to you. We're supposed to be writing songs that relate to other people,” Sean Watkins says. “I need to be out there and having a different life. I’m ready to write about real things again.”